


Of Waves and Stars

by Kalua



Series: Advent Calendar 2019 [6]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Ferdinand is such a good boy, Fluff, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Tower of the Goddess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:13:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21682024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalua/pseuds/Kalua
Summary: On the night of Garreg Mach's anniversary, Petra and Ferdinand share some traditions together...
Relationships: Ferdinand von Aegir/Petra Macneary
Series: Advent Calendar 2019 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1559035
Kudos: 16





	Of Waves and Stars

“Ah, Ferdinand.” Petra rushed over to Ferdinand, then hesitated. She usually wasn’t timid, especially not around her classmates, but her grasp on Fódlan’s etiquette was still shaky. What if she was about to make a mistake?

Ferdinand turned around to her, beaming. “Yes, Petra?”

“I have a question to hear you.” Being nervous didn’t do much to help her with Fódlan’s language, either. Ferdinand seemed to notice, too, if his furrowed brows were any indication—or maybe she’d just made a mistake and he was trying to understand what she had said? She was already talking slowly to give herself enough time to think about the words, though. “In Brigid, during this moon on the 25th day, women can ask men to meet them at the ocean for good luck. There is no ocean near Garreg Mach, but we could go to the fishpond, if you want to. Unless there is a different tradition in Fódlan.”

“I would l feel honored to partake in one of Brigid’s traditions!” Ferdinand smiled from ear to ear, and Petra felt relief wash over her. “Garreg Mach has the tale that, if a man and a woman meet at the Tower of the Goddess during this night, their paths will remain intertwined. Maybe we could go there afterwards?”

“Yes, I would love to.” She returned his smile. “Then I will see you tonight.”

It was cold at the pond when Petra arrived; after all, it was winter. She could still hear the music from inside the halls, and voices talking, too. A few people had asked her to dance, but while she had accepted, they hadn’t danced for more than a minute or two; the strict rules of Fódlan’s dances were still new to her.

Ferdinand wasn’t there yet. Petra had gone outside after she’d seen him leave, thinking he would already be waiting for her. What could be taking him so long? Was there another pond nearby that he could have gone to?

But he arrived only a few minutes later. “I’m sorry. There was just something I had to take care of first.” He sorted his hair; it was tousled, as if he’d run. “But now I have the whole night.” He smiled and stepped up next to Petra, looking down at the water. It was too still to feel like an ocean, but it was better than nothing.

“So, can you explain to me what the tradition is about?”

“Well…” Petra tilted her head to the side as she looked for the right words. Ferdinand waited patiently; she liked how he never tried to hurry her up. “In Brigid, you jump over the waves together. It shows that you can overcome your problems together, too.” She glanced at the water. “Although… I’m not quite sure how to do this here.”

Ferdinand thought for a moment. “We could make waves by dropping a stone into the pond! Although they wouldn’t be as big as the ocean’s. And… If we hang our legs over the ledge, our feet will almost touch the water. Then if we pull them up, it’s almost as if we are jumping!”

Petra giggled. He seemed so excited by the idea, too! “Yes, we can do that.”

Ferdinand nodded and quickly went looking for a few large stones, to make the waves as big as possible.

Once he had a couple, they sat down on the ledge. Petra hesitated for a second, then took Ferdinand’s hand; after all, the tradition involved doing it hand in hand. Ferdinand glanced at her, but he didn’t withdraw. “Are you ready?” Petra asked.

Ferdinand smiled. “Yes, I am.”

Petra threw the first stone, and just as the ripples almost reached them, they pulled up their legs. Ferdinand threw the second, and a third not too long after; they “jumped” those, too.

There was a moment of silence as they watched the pond’s surface come to rest again.

Petra looked at Ferdinand. “I hope our problems stay as small as the waves.”

Ferdinand nodded. “As do I.” He waited a little longer before he stood up. Petra followed, rather than letting his hand go. “Shall we go to the Tower of the Goddess, then?”

“Yes.” For a moment, Petra wondered if she should mention that he didn’t have to hold her hand now. But holding hands felt nice, so she kept quiet.

It was a little warmer inside the Tower than it had been outside, though it was still quite cool.

“So, how does Fódlan’s tradition work?” Petra looked around, though the place didn’t lend itself to an explanation.

Ferdinand put his free hand up against his chin. “Well… The way I heard it, the Goddess blesses pairs who come here together. I don’t think there is anything special we need to do. Although… We could go to the top, where we can see the stars.”

Petra nodded, and they made their way up the stairs. The building was old, but it felt secure—it had been here for many years already, and it would be here for many more years to come. The night sky was bright with stars, gifting them a truly breathtaking view. Had they been in Brigid, Petra could have named each and every one of them; but this far north, the sky looked different.

But while it was pretty, it was also cold; Petra barely even noticed that she stepped a little bit closer to Ferdinand.

He, however, did notice. “Ah, my apologies.” He let go of her hand, but only to take off his coat. “You’re still not used to how cold Fódlan is, right? Here.” He gently laid it around Petra’s shoulders.

“Thank you.” She wondered whether she should take Ferdinand’s hand again, but before she could decide, Ferdinand took hers, his eyes raised upwards to the stars.

“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?”

Petra just nodded, and for a while, they looked up at the starry sky, lost in the moment.

It was Ferdinand who broke the silence. “There is something I’d like to give you.”

Petra averted her eyes from the stars to look at Ferdinand instead. “What is it?”

Once more, Ferdinand let go of her hand and took a small box out of his pocket. “I made it myself, with plants I had delivered from Brigid. I wish I could have grown the flowers myself as well, but that would have taken too much time.”

Curious, Petra opened the box. In it was a necklace, its pendants made from Brigid’s flowers, enclosed in resin to keep them fresh. “It is very beautiful.”

“Shall I help you put it on?”

“Yes, thank you.” Petra turned around and moved her ponytail to the side.

The music from the festival was still audible up here, albeit faintly. When Petra turned back to Ferdinand, he held out his hand. “May I ask for this dance?”

Petra averted her eyes. “I would love to dance, but I don’t quite know how Fódlan’s dance works. There are many more rules than in Brigid.”

But Ferdinand kept his gentle smile. “And I don’t know how much about Brigid’s dances. But maybe together, we can find something in the middle that works for us both?”

After only a heartbeat of hesitation, Petra took his hand. “I would love to try.”

And to the rhythm of the music, they danced. Not quite as concise as Fódlan’s dances and not quite as free as Brigid’s, it was something that was completely and utterly theirs.

**Author's Note:**

>  _They are adorable and Ferdi is a good boy_  
>  Idk this might be my favorite piece of writing among the stuff I've written so far. They are so _soft_ and I know I wrote this but still I just. _Awww_.  
> Also I just hope I got Petra's speech right. Since I played in German with Japanese audio, I've never heard her talk in English.


End file.
